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whats best food for dubia roach?

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I just started my colony and they dont seem tl be eating well at all they have correct heating no light visible to them lots of egg cartons plenty of space water crystals and ive given them bananas oranges cat food fish flakes it all always looks untouched its a colony of 100 ... 60 adults 40 nymphs

I put in a roach food mix that came with my colony too.... they eat better with the crunch berries though. I hope its not bad for them. They are breeding Awesome!!! I just looked tonight and saw a WHOLE bunch of little babies!!!

oranges! Quartered up, they are the best breeding tackle for them (no need for water crystals if you use oranges!) carrots are very good too! Apples, pears, grapes, butternut squash, cherries and banana are all devoured real quick in my colony (around 3000) cat biscuits and corn flakes for roughage. just mist the sides lightly every night and they will do really well without water crystals if you use the above

they will be, trust me! Take into account, you only have 100 and 40 are nymphs, it may look like hardly any food is missing but imagine how small their stomachs are, and bear in mind, the nymphs' staple diet is the poo! (frass) thats why the enclosures never stink like crickets do. Also they are munching water crystals, i would get rid, they are expensive and pointless, other people may chime in and say they need them, but with oranges and/or juicy fruits, they do fine with a mist on the side of the tub every night. I got a colony (to add to my existing colony lol) for my birthday from the roach ranch, and that came with water crystals in a tub.
I binned them.

they will be, trust me! Take into account, you only have 100 and 40 are nymphs, it may look like hardly any food is missing but imagine how small their stomachs are, and bear in mind, the nymphs' staple diet is the poo! (frass) thats why the enclosures never stink like crickets do. Also they are munching water crystals, i would get rid, they are expensive and pointless, other people may chime in and say they need them, but with oranges and/or juicy fruits, they do fine with a mist on the side of the tub every night. I got a colony (to add to my existing colony lol) for my birthday from the roach ranch, and that came with water crystals in a tub.
I binned them.

Water crystals are actually very cheap. I bought a 1 lb. bag online for about $10. It is enough to fill a 1 gallon jug with crystals something like 40 times. I can see the crystals that I bought for $10 lasting me at least a year, maybe 2. $10 for two years worth is inexpensive in my opinion.

I feed my roaches ( colony of about 300 - 400) 1 orange a week. They devour it in about 24 hours. I have tried bananas and pears, but they don't eat them nearly as well. I have also tried carrrots, and they eat them, but not very well. I always take out the leftover orange peels after 1 day or they will mold. For the other 6 days its the mix of roach food and cereal. and water crystals.

I've been using this cereal made by the Kinetix diet folks. It's awful stuff & humans don't seem to enjoy it, but my dubia & hisser colonies loves it! I had a ton of boxes for awhile(people give it away once they've tried it) but when I can't get it, I wait for the unpalatable, hippie cereals like Kashi & GoLean to go on sale. They get citrus & carrots often & I've never put any sort of vegetable/fruit in that hasn't been wholly consumed. Of course, this is for colonies with large numbers. With a starter colony, less is more until you get a solid idea of how much they're taking in weekly.

"Please leave immediately if you have a weak stomach or mind since I don't want to cause physical or mental distress." - R. Budd Dwyer

Very true! When I first got my colony, I was keeping them just in my T room. They didn't seem very active, eating much, or breeding. I then read to raise the heat. So I put them in the T room closet with a heater, and NO light. I now keep them in the closet at 95 degrees or more (inside their enclosure) at all times. They are now THRIVING!!! TONS of little babies!!

Very true! When I first got my colony, I was keeping them just in my T room. They didn't seem very active, eating much, or breeding. I then read to raise the heat. So I put them in the T room closet with a heater, and NO light. I now keep them in the closet at 95 degrees or more (inside their enclosure) at all times. They are now THRIVING!!! TONS of little babies!!

too right, if they arent warm enough, their metabolism slows to a crawl and growing/breeding time crawls with it. Also, they will drop oothecas instead of transferring them to the incubation chamber, they have in effect aborted their young if they do this, usually if the right conditions arent met. They are also very space-aware and wont give birth if they feel its too crowded.

I've had a recent discovery with mango''s and my dubia. My gf's mom eats them and typically there is a pit that is cut out, well that has some meat left on it. I put it in and within 5 hours or so it's completely cleaned. just a white pit is left. They do better with the mango's then the oranges, but the celery and cabbage go down well as well. For dry food i like to use beta fish flakes. i use that with my isopods and been a great inbetween meals food.